


Drabbles - Xander

by lycomingst



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: Drabble, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-01-01
Updated: 2010-01-01
Packaged: 2017-10-05 14:54:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/42916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lycomingst/pseuds/lycomingst
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is a collection of unrelated drabbles featuring Xander. Most were written for the "Open on Sunday" LJ community.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Drabbles - Xander

**Dreams**

In his dreams he has two eyes. Peripheral vision. And a friend, Jesse. The dreams come when he gets overtired, or too confused about what to do next.

He and his friend are just about to start high school. He never pictures them in class, only in the courtyard, or the gym, or the cafeteria. Jesse makes him laugh in the dream but he never remembers why in the morning. He knows they both feel happy, hopeful. Now they'll be grown up, sure of things.

Then he awakes to one eye, no friend and a life where anything can happen.

 

**Lack of Direction**

After the excitement of the graduation, the house he returned to was peaceful.

As he unlocked the front door and swung it open on the empty, dark rooms, he whispered to himself, "Surprise!"

Oh, right, no graduation party. In fact, no parents. Off to Tahoe with a few extra bucks slipped to him, with instructions to buy himself something nice.

He headed to the kitchen, his alcoholic gift choice was imported and sat chilling in the refrigerator. He sat at the table, eyes closed, with the bottle cradled in his hand and resting against his forehead and thought, "Now what?"

 

**Rub-a-Dub**

"Wait, I think I got it."

"Well, I'm pretty sure that's _not_ it."

Snicker. "Everything is slippery in here."

"It's a tub filled with frothy water, of course it's bloody slippery." Spike grabbed a handful of bubbles, blew on them and watched them drift towards Xander's face.

Xander batted them away. "Don't distract me. I'm on a hunt."

"Keep hunting in that territory, and you might find something that will really distract you."

"Shh! I'm sneaking up on it. I nearly got it cornered."

"That's it, either buy that soap that floats, or you're wearing a soap on the rope."

 

**In England**

Giles let himself into his flat, thinking of a small drink and some quiet music, in that order. With luck his houseguest was still out shopping.

The sitting room told him a different story. Bags were on the floor and settee, partially opened, disgorging their contents untidily. Tee shirts with putatively amusing slogans predomininated.

"Xander!" he strode into the guest bedroom. And was stunned at the sight that greeted him.

Xander lay supine on the bed, surrounded by dozens of small shiny paper bits and wads of cellophane. "Candy! Chocolate!" he croaked. "You didn't tell me it was so good."

 

**Xander**

I make jokes, yeah. That's who I am. I like the humor most of the time. Things strike me funny. It gives me time to think about things.

So when Halloween comes, little kids come to the door all dressed up. I call them silly names and they giggle as I dole out the chocolate. But I stare at the ones dressed as vampires hard. I watch that they walk all the way to the sidewalk, and don't slide into the shadows in the yard.

Life is way different than when me and Jessie went out as Solo and Skywalker.

 

**Calculation**

Xander used to like tests in school to be multiple choice. He had a one-in-four chance of getting it right.

This new life he was forging needed him to know things for sure. Did he need 2 by 4s or 4 by 8s? Was this a load-bearing wall? Subflooring, how many feet of it would the job take?

All kind of calculations.

How much would this wedding cost? Does Anya really love him? Would he let her down? Would they end up like his parents? Had they made a big mistake?

Some things couldn't be worked out on a calculator.

**Downtime**

It's a dive. The Xmas lights stay up til July, or til they all burn out. The regulars cash their pension checks here, take home some for rent and food, leave the rest. That way they never get mugged of their drinking money.

The guy with the eye patch used to come in with another guy. Blond hair, stomping boots. They'd laugh and talk. Now, he, one-eyed guy, comes in alone. Drinks a whole lot more.

The bartender, bored, one night asks about his friend. The guy just says, _immortality ain't what it used to be_, and drains his glass.

**AR**

He stepped in front of her, or maybe he meant to go after Warren. Nobody ever knew. He didn't save her from the first bullet, but he took the next. The paramedics said he was probably dead before he hit the ground.

Willow and Tara ran down from their bedroom. When they saw the bodies, Tara went to call an ambulance, then brought towels to stop the bleeding. She helped Buffy while Willow held Xander's head in her lap. She kept calling his name.

One ambulance raced to the hospital. The second didn't use its siren. There was no need.

 

**Jingle Jangle**

"I quit the ice cream truck." Xander told Willow.

"But it was a sweet job. Ha! Pun intentional."

"The bells. They got to me. Definitely psycho-making."

It wasn't that at all, though.

Xander would look through the serving window and remember being on the other side. When his father in drunken generosity would flip him a buck. Remembered feeling rich. Remembered thinking the truck guy had the best job in the world.

Now he knew the guy had nowhere else to go. That he couldn't imagine feeling as happy as a kid with a popsicle.

And the bells _were_ annoying.

 

**What?**

Giles, sorting through books that might be helpful, stopped to study one. "Yes, we'll mark that read." He closed it and flung it into the useless pile.

Xander, woken from a daydream in which Batgirl and Robin were taken captive and made to wrestle naked, heard, '...make that red', asked in confusion, "We're making book covers?"

"What? No. Pay attention. Read, not red," Giles gestured at his carmine tie,

"Homonyms. Words sounding alike but with different meanings." Willow added.

"Tricky words, huh? I like straightforward-John-Wayne words. Doughnut? Always means the same thing. Sugary goodness," Xander said eating the last one.

**In Proportion**

Xander felt everything was his fault. His father blamed him if the garage was a mess or the television didn't work or for the fact that his own life had gone down the drain. Xander's mother blamed him for upsetting his father.

Then Xander was introduced into a world where vampires existed. He came to know on more-than-passing-acquaintance-way beings that had spread centuries of death across the world. He learned even the bespectacled librarian was once entangled in black magic that caused a man's death.

Xander stopped feeling guilty when his father yelling he couldn't find the remote.

 

**Xander**

He drove to the big distant mall. The first time a guy does it, well, he feels self-conscious.

The town drugstore was out. Too embarrassing. He had the feeling it was going to take him a while to work himself up to taking his purchase to the checkout. Or suppose he had to ask for them. He'd probably lurk so long they'd think he was casing the place.

In the anonymity of a giant store, he found what he wanted and considered.

**Condoms  
Economical Party-Pak, 40 for the price of 30!**

or

**Package of Five**

He took the second one.


End file.
